- Julio Jones saw several adjustments to his contract before reporting to Falcons training camp, writes Michael Davis Smith of ProFootballTalk.com. The star wideout will now earn a $4.4MM signing bonus thanks to his revised deal, while his 2018 and 2019 base salaries were reduced to $1.5MM and $2.9MM, respectively.
[SOURCE LINK]
The Falcons and left tackle Jake Matthews are finalizing a five-year, $75MM deal, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal positions Matthews as one of the three highest paid left tackles in the league. 
[RELATED: Julio Jones Reaches Compromise With Falcons]
Matthews, 26, has started every game he’s played in for the Falcons since entering the league as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Last year, the Texas A&M product graded out as the No. 14 tackle in the NFL, per the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Matthews’ 1,159 regular season snaps was the fourth-highest of any tackle in the NFL last season.
Initially, Matthews was scheduled to earn $12.496MM in 2018 before hitting the open market. With the new deal, he’ll earn even more – $15MM/year – while remaining under club control through 2023. It’s a whopper of a deal for a left tackle, and one that is only topped by Taylor Lewan‘s fat new contract with the Titans and Nate Solder‘s recent four-year, $62MM pact.
Next up for the Falcons may be a new deal with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. Jarrett, a fifth round pick back in 2015, is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Julio Jones and the Falcons have reached a compromise. The star wide receiver will participate in training camp and the two sides will go back to the negotiating table next year. 
“We have had continued dialogue all offseason with Julio and his representation. We have come to an agreement with Julio, and we will re-address everything in 2019. I appreciate everyone’s hard work and communication on this,” GM Thomas Dimitroff said in a statement. “This adjustment does not impede us from working on other extensions with other key members of our football team. We will continue to work on those contracts going forward.”
The Falcons converted roughly $2MM of Jones’ 2019 base salary into a bonus for 2018, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic (on Twitter) hears. That’s far from the mega extension that Jones was gunning for, but it’ll be enough to get him on the practice field and focused on football.
Last year, Jones had 88 receptions for 1,444 yards and he has given the Falcons four straight seasons with at least 1,400 yards receiving.. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of his last five healthy seasons, positioning himself as one of the very best wide receivers in the game. However, with three years to go on his current contract, he didn’t have quite enough leverage to get a new deal.
The Falcons are “working intensively” on a new contract for wide receiver Julio Jones, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Atlanta is open to “creatively addressing” Jones’ planned salary for 2018, which sits at $10.5MM.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced indicating Jones would be holding out from the Falcons’ training camp after requesting an “adjusted” contract in May. Thus far, Atlanta has not shown an inclination to give Jones any sort of an alteration, and were reportedly focused on new deals for players like Grady Jarrett, Jake Matthews, and Ricardo Allen.
Jones helped reset the wide receiver market in 2015 by inking a five-year, $71.25MM extension with Atlanta, tying him to the club through the 2020 campaign. However, Jones’ $14.25MM average salary now ranks just ninth among NFL wideouts, behind fellow pass-catchers such as Davante Adams, Jarvis Landry, and Sammy Watkins.
In 2017, Jones snagged 83 balls en route to finishing third in the league in receiving yards per game. The 29-year-old Jones has been to four straight Pro Bowls and has two first-team All-Pro nods under his belt. Once his contract is squared away, he’ll once top an Atlanta depth chart that now includes Calvin Ridley in additional to Mohamed Sanu.
Today’s minor moves:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: DB Terrance Parks
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DL Tenny Palepoi
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Cam Serigne
- Released: DT Drew Iddings
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Mark Chapman
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: WR Adonis Jennings, Kyle Lewis
Indianpolis Colts
- Signed: S Shamarko Thomas
- Waived: CB Juante Baldwin
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: OL Donavon Clark
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: WR Aaron Lacombe, WR Khadarel Lott, WR JoJo Natson
- Waived: WR LaQuvionte Gonzalez, WR Ricky Jeune
New York Giants
- Signed: DT Izaah Lunsford
- Waived: TE Kyle Carter, P Taylor Symmank
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived/injured: DB Trey Johnson
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: S Josh Liddell, T Jerry Ugokwe
- Waived/Injured: DT Channing Ward
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DE Claude Pelon
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DB Prince Charles Iworah
- Waived/Injured: RB Keith Marshall
The Falcons signed general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn to three-year contracts extensions, the team announced on Wednesday. Both men are now signed through the 2022 season. 
[RELATED: Julio Jones Won’t Report To Camp]
“The partnership between Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff has proven to be as successful as we envisioned back in 2015,” said Falcons owner and chairman Arthur Blank. “I believe continuity in leadership is vital to achieving the highest levels of success in any organization and, with these extensions, we ensure these two leaders will be at the helm of our franchise for years to come. Their shared vision and long view plan has already delivered on a variety of levels and has positioned our team for success into the future. My expectations for our team to represent our city and fans well on and off the field remain very high and so does my confidence in Dan and Thomas to make that happen.”
Things have gone well in Atlanta, for the most part, since Dimitroff joined the team in 2008. The Falcons enjoyed five consecutive winning seasons and three consecutive playoff appearances from 2008-12. Clearly, Dimitroff’s emphasis on building through the draft has paid off. As the Falcons noted in their press release, the Falcons had 17 starters in last year’s playoffs – nine on defense and eight on offense – who were either drafted or signed by the team as college free agents.
Quinn, meanwhile, joined the Falcons in 2015. He has a 29-19 record in his three seasons at the helm, including two postseason appearances and a Super Bowl appearance.
Last year, the Falcons enjoyed a playoff win over the Rams, but fell to the Eagles in the divisional round. As they look to improve upon that, they’ll forge ahead with their current GM/Coach duo.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones does not plan to report to camp and he is comfortable sitting out the entire time, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL>com (on Twitter). Jones, of course, wants an improved contract, even though the Falcons have told him that he will not be getting one. 
The Falcons have told Jones taht they would be willing to re-work his contract next year, but Jones wants it done right now, even though he has three years to go on his current pact. In years past, stars such as Antonio Brown, Marshawn Lynch, and Rob Gronkowski have been in similar positions. In those cases, their respective teams moved money from a future season to the current year in order to satisfy the player. That could be the solution here for the Falcons to get Jones back in the fold.
Jones skipped the Falcons’ voluntary offseason program and mandatory minicamp, so it’s not a shock to see him stay away during training camp. He’ll face hefty fines for holding out, but it could be worthwhile in the long run if he gets what he wants.
Jones is earning $14.25MM per year on his contract, but doesn’t have much left in guarantees. As he enters his final season in his 20s, it makes some sense for Jones to push for the best deal that he can get and holding out is the only way to make that happen since he has three years to go on the deal. Jones has been working out with Terrell Owens as of late, and it’s possible that he has influenced Jones’ thinking.
The Falcons star is coming off his fourth straight season with at least 1,400 yards, as he finished with 88 receptions for 1,444 yards and three scores. He’s made the Pro Bowl in each of his last five healthy seasons, positioning himself as one of the very best wide receivers in the game.
The Falcons have had to do right by a lot of players recently. They’ve doled out extensions to Devonta Freeman and Matt Ryan and still need to lock up Grady Jarrett and Jake Matthews. Ricardo Allen has also been angling for a new deal. On top of all this, star receiver Julio Jones has made clear his unhappiness with his current contract, and held out of mandatory minicamp in protest.
The team recently informed Jones they had no plans to sweeten his deal, which still has three years remaining on it. Jones is looking at it from the wrong perspective, argues Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Bradley thinks that since the Falcons budgeted for the rest of their players under the assumption Jones would play out his deal, it isn’t fair of him to ask the team for a raise. Bradley writes that Jones’ demands are due to “wounded pride” at being the NFL’s seventh-highest paid receiver. It’s unclear how Jones will respond to Atlanta’s refusal, but the team certainly doesn’t want its best player this unhappy. It wouldn’t be surprising if the two sides come to some sort of agreement on additional incentives or some other measure that will satisfy Jones.
The Falcons have informed Julio Jones that they have no plans to give Julio Jones a raise before the 2018 season starts, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic hears. However, the Falcons maintain hope that Jones will report to training camp next week.
The Falcons have never renegotiated a contract with more than one year left on a deal, and Jones has three years to go on his pact. The Falcons are apparently holding the line for now, even though Jones is a transcendent talent. Instead, they’ll focus on extensions for players like defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, left tackle Jake Matthews and safety Ricardo Allen, all of whom are entering their walk years.
The Falcons have told Jones that they are willing to discuss his deal after the 2018 season, Schultz hears. The Falcons may feel that is a solid compromise given their position on early extension talks, but Jones may not see it that way.
After skipping the Falcons’ voluntary offseason program and mandatory minicamp, Jones watched Rams wide receiver Brandin Cooks ink a five-year, $80MM contract earlier this week. The new money average gives Cooks a higher average salary, even though he is not as accomplished as Jones. That development has almost certainly rankled the Falcons star.
Falcons training camp begins on Wednesday afternoon with the first practice scheduled for Thursday.
Everyone is waiting to see whether Julio Jones will show up for Falcons training camp, but fans received an encouraging sign this week when Jones arrived at Matt Ryan‘s offseason passing camp (Twitter link via team). Jones has stayed away from the team this offseason in hopes of reworking his contract and it’s not clear if he’ll join his teammates on July 26 in Georgia.
Jones is underpaid for what he does, but he has three years to go on his deal and the Falcons aren’t under any real pressure to revise his deal. His yearly average of $14.25MM once seemed like a lot, but it’s now good for eighth among wide receivers. Jones could, in theory, improve his leverage by continuing to skip team activities, but he’ll have to pay substantial fines.